Marauders: Year One
by it-hit-true
Summary: Follow the story of the Marauders as they navigate themselves through their first year at Hogwarts. As they enter the school of magic, the boys will make new friends and enemies, fight and laugh together. But while they're doing this, a dark threat looms over the whole Wizarding World. Lord Voldemort has begun to gain power in England, and it's up to the boys to thwart his plans.
1. A Train Ride

James watched the other kids board the train, lingering behind with uncertainty. He was getting a headache; between his mother's sobbing, the train's whistling, and the general noise of the platform, it was getting unbearably loud. He wasn't sure why he felt this way; normally, loud noises soothed his ears. But today, he wasn't feeling them.

Maybe it was the nerves. Maybe he was just so nervous because he would be starting at a new school with new friends who might not even like him.

James shook his head slightly. He was _James Potter_, he would be fine. He would be the best Quidditch player to ever grace Gryffindor House. Ever. No one would even come close to competing with him, he would be that good.

"Take care, alright?" his mother said tearfully, giving him a fat, sloppy kiss on his forehead.

"Mom, stop," James grumbled. "You're embarrassing me."

"Oh, stop, Jamesie!" his mother cried. "We won't be seeing you until Christmas!"

"Our little boy, off to learn magic!" his father was beaming at him. James gave a weak smile back. "Now, Euphemia, James is right. He'll miss the train if we keep him here."

At that, his mother let go of him, giving him a wet smile. "Our little wizard," she sniffed, before hugging him one last time. "Your father is right, do go on. Don't let me keep you here."

James freed himself from her embrace. "Bye Mum," he said, squeezing her hand. "Bye Dad." He rolled his cart down the platform towards the nearest entrance.

It was crowded on the platform, and his luggage wasn't making it any easier to get through. Between his owl, his trunk, and his broomstick, he was bumping into people left and right.

"Sorry!" he said to a short, redheaded witch. His attention was on her; he didn't notice he had bumped into someone else.

A tall, regal-looking man stared down at him, his steely eyes boring into James. "Watch where you're going," he said to James, who shrank back just a little bit. "Consider yourself lucky I feel patient today."

"Sorry, sir," James said meekly, and hung his head slightly. He unloaded his trunk and carried his belongings down the train and into an empty compartment. He sat down, looking out the window.

The man had shaken him; he had not known wizards to be like that. That cold, or unwelcoming. Everyone he had ever known had loved him. It just didn't make _sense_.

"Can I sit here?"

James turned away from the window to look at the compartment door. A dark-haired boy with bright grey eyes lingered uncertainly in the doorway, waiting for an invitation to come in.

"Yeah, sure," James said. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter." He stuck out his hand as the boy sat across from him.

The other shook it. "I'm Sirius," he said, and gave a strange sort of spasm.

James raised his eyebrow. "Uh… are you alright?" he asked.

Sirius smiled. "I'm fine," he said. "It's just that I usually bow when I meet someone. It's kind of a family habit, I guess."

James could think of a person he had just met who would ask their child to do that. "Say," he started, looking out the window. "That wouldn't happen to be your father, would it?"

Sirius followed his gaze. "Yeah, that's him," Sirius said. "Real nice guy. How could you tell?"

"We've… met," James said, smirking. "Threatened me a little bit."

"Ah," Sirius nodded. "Sorry."

"No worries," James laughed. "As long as you're not like that."

"Nah, I'm not," Sirius grinned.

The compartment door opened again; this time a sallow-faced boy came in with a redheaded girl who looked like she had been crying.

"But we're going!" the boy said breathlessly. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

James turned away from their conversation. He had no interest in coming between whatever was going on with those two.

"You'd be better in Slytherin!" the boy told her.

James let out an involuntary snort. The newcomers turned to look at him.

"Slytherin?" James asked. "Who'd want to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he turned to address Sirius, who had stopped smiling.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," Sirius replied grimly.

"Blimey," James said, surprised. "And I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius smiled. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James grinned and pantomimed swinging a sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad," he said, puffing his chest out.

The sallow-faced boy made a small _tch_. James turned to look at him.

"Got a problem with that?" James asked, staring the boy down.

"No," the boy said, sneering slightly. James could tell he didn't really mean it. "But if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" Sirius cut in. James laughed heartily; he had a feeling he and Sirius would get along nicely.

The girl, who James had not given much attention to, sniffed, looking at James and Sirius disdainfully. "C'mon, Severus, let's go find another compartment."

"Oooooo…" Sirius imitated her lofty voice. James sniggered, sticking his foot out as the boy stood up and left the compartment.

"See ya, _Snivellus_!" Sirius called after them.

James turned to him, grinning. "That went well," he said.

"We've started already?" Sirius said, disregarding him. James looked out the window. King's Cross was long gone; now they were going through the green English countryside. James felt a pang of guilt in his stomach; his parents had probably waved to him and he hadn't noticed.

"I should've said goodbye to my parents," James said, watching the hills pass by. "I'll have to write them a letter."

"I'm glad I didn't say goodbye to mine," Sirius said, smirking. "But I suppose I should have said goodbye to my little brother. He'll miss me. I hope."

"You have a sibling?" James asked, his eyes widening. "I've always wanted a sibling. A younger brother that I could play Quidditch with."

"Pssh, it's not all that great," Sirius replied dismissively. "It's fun for about the first five minutes, and then it sucks."

"Oh," James said. "But it's kind of lonely, being an only child."

"Oi, I'd love that," Sirius said. "My parents suck. 'Slytherin this, Slytherin that'."

"Ah," James said, trying not to be rude to his new friend. "Well, my dad's like that. But with Gryffindor, y'know?"

Sirius nodded.

...

The rest of the train ride went by quickly. Not many others came to join James and Sirius in their compartment. James had a feeling this had something to do with the redheaded girl.

It was nearing sunset; the sky had faded to a burnt orange, shedding its last rays for the day. Sirius had left the compartment a few minutes ago, so James was alone.

The English countryside had slowly transformed into the mountains of Scotland. James didn't know where exactly Hogwarts was, but his father had said it was located in the mountains. That meant they were drawing near to it. A spark of excitement fluttered about in his stomach; this was it. This day would decide his fate for the next seven years. He was really here. Well, almost.

"Hope you didn't miss me terribly," said Sirius regally, stepping back into the compartment.

"No, it was heaven without you," James replied, smiling. "Go back out."

"No way," Sirius said, sitting down. "You're stuck with me until we get to the castle."

"Yeah," said James. "Who knows, I might be stuck with you for the next seven years."

"Oi, imagine that," Sirius laughed.

"Unless, of course," James started slyly. "Some terrible accident was to befall you…"

Sirius feigned astonishment. "Don't tell me you're plotting anything, Potter." he said, looking betrayed.

"I'd never dream of it," James said, rolling his eyes.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. Then, he looked at James stoically. "Can you believe this is it? We're really off to Hogwarts."

"It's crazy," James said, sighing. "It feels like only yesterday my parents were telling me about it."

"Can you imagine it?" Sirius asked, gazing out the window. "We're going to learn _magic_. Real magic. Not the accidental stuff."

"Real magic," James said absently. Now a large black lake was growing visible on the horizon. Behind it, a majestic stone castle.

"Look at it," Sirius said breathlessly. "It's so beautiful."

"So beautiful indeed," James remarked, sighing. "I can't wait to meet my new roommates."

Sirius looked at the floor. "Me too," he said halfheartedly. "But I'm probably going to end up as Slytherin anyway, so I bet they'll all be my cousins."

James frowned. "Don't say that!" he said. "I don't think you would be a Slytherin."

Sirius smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I don't want to get in with that lot anyway. Bunch of Dark Wizards, y'know? Followers of You-Know-Who."

"Yeah," James said. "Nasty bunch."

"Nasty bunch," Sirius said, standing up abruptly. "Oh! I forgot to mention it. We need to change into our school robes."

"Right," James said, unloading his trunk from the overhead baggage carrier. "We should probably do that."

James put his robes on quickly. They still carried the smell of Madame Malkin's. He reloaded his trunk and turned to Sirius, whose robes had green lining. He was grimacing.

"This sucks," Sirius said, holding up a sleeve. "I wish we had just bought regular black robes."

"Sorry, mate," James said, wincing. "Green is such an ugly color anyway. I'm sure there's some spell to chan-" he was cut off by the sharp jerking of the train, which had pulled to a stop. James looked out the window. It was fully dark now, and the lake had grown even bigger. On the other side: Hogwarts castle.

**Thanks for reading guys! I did borrow some stuff from ****_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_****, so the Snape and Lily scene was taken from there. The next chapter will also be James, as a heads up. It will also be the Sorting Ceremony. **


	2. Sortings and Scandals

"Firs' years over 'ere!" a loud, deep voice called. The station was horribly crowded; James couldn't see around the hordes of students gathered around the train door. He had lost Sirius long back; the black-haired boy had run off to say hello to one of his cousins. Judging by the way Sirius had spoken about his cousins, he could not understand why he would voluntarily visit one.

James walked towards the gruff voice, blindly following its sound. Soon enough, he came to find its owner; a large, _large_, man with a scruffy beard and kind eyes.

"Well, 'ello there!" he cried when he spotted James. "I take it yer a firs' year?"

James nodded quickly, still startled by the man's height. His dad had never mentioned anything about this guy.

"Well come on then!" the large man said. "I'm Rubeus Hagrid, by the way. Keeper of Keys and Grounds 'ere at Hogwarts."

"That's nice," James said, scanning the crowd for Sirius, whom he spotted chatting with a blonde girl. "I'm gonna go- over… there."

He waved a hasty goodbye to Hagrid and jumped in the boat with the blonde and Sirius. "And who is this?" he asked the latter.

"This is…" Sirius paused, and turned to the girl. "I forgot your name."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm Marlene McKinnon," she told James, who grinned at Sirius' absentmindedness. "And you are?"

"James," he replied.

Marlene smiled at him, and turned back to Sirius. "So you're telling me that you're going to cut class first thing tomorrow?"

"Yep," said Sirius, grinning devilishly. "First thing tomorrow."

"And you expect me not to tell the teachers?"

The grin faded from Sirius' face. "Ah," he said. "I didn't really think about that."

James snorted.

"I'm gonna tell," Marlene said, smirking. "First day back and you'll get detention."

Sirius pouted.

They reached the other side quickly enough. James hopped out first, followed by Marlene. Sirius bided his time, taking a few stretches before getting out.

"What house do you wanna be in?" James asked Marlene as they were entering the castle.

"I dunno," Marlene replied earnestly. "I suppose being a Gryffindor would be alright. I hear they're super brave and stuff."

"I wanna be a Gryffindor," James said, adjusting his glasses, which had become crooked on the boat ride. "They're super brave and stuff."

"That's what I just said," said Marlene, looking at him. Then she looked up. "Hey, look, a professor."

James looked up as well. A tall, bony witch in emerald green robes came gliding down the staircase, holding a scroll of parchment in her hand. She had a tall, pointed hat to match her spectacles, which gave off an slight aura of imperiousness.

"Good evening to you all," she said when she reached the bottom. "I am glad to see that you have found yourselves friends here at Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and your Transfiguration teacher.

Soon you will find yourself sitting with your fellow classmates in the Great Hall. But before we do that, we must complete the Sorting Ceremony. The Sorting Ceremony will separate you into the four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. This House will be your 'family' during your stay at Hogwarts. Good actions will earn you House points, while rule-breaking shall cost you. At the end of the year, the Houses compete in the House Cup. The House with the most points shall win it. Now, if you will follow me into the Great Hall, we shall begin your ceremony." McGonagall finished and turned her back to them, leading them into the Hall.

"That was a lot of words," James whispered to Marlene, who laughed silently. "I don't think I kept up."

"You've got to pay attention," Marlene said. "Otherwise you'll never pick up anything!"

James laughed as they entered the Great Hall, then stopped abruptly. It was a huge room, big and open with four long tables lined up in it. There sat the older students, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and Slytherins and Ravenclaws, all watching them get sorted.

"I didn't realize there would be this many people," James whispered. Butterflies flew around in his stomach. Marlene nodded slowly.

His stomach churned. He looked at the Gryffindor table, decked out in reds and golds, and then at the Slytherin table. Their cold faces stared back at him.

McGonagall led them to the front of the hall, where a small stool with a hat perched on it stood. James observed the hat.

"Abbott, Lukas!"

James watched the first boy go up to the stool and sit on it. The hat came to life; it started to _talk_. His dad had omitted this from his lecture about Hogwarts.

"_HUFFLEPUFF!_" it cried. James took a step back.

"Avery, Orpheus!"

"_SLYTHERIN_!"

"Awxley, Lena!"

"_RAVENCLAW!_"

"Black, Sirius!"

_Black_, Sirius? James had heard of the Black family before; they were Dark Wizards, the lot of them. Of course, Sirius had said his entire family was in Slytherin. James shook his head. If Sirius was a Black, then they couldn't be all that bad.

The hat was still making its decision. James could see Sirius' small, pale face sticking out from underneath it.

Finally: "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

The whole Hall seemed to quiet just a little bit. Many heads turned at the Slytherin table as Sirius took off the hat, placed it on the stool, and walked over to the Gryffindor table quietly. James saw their expressions change from shock to hatred as he took a seat. At the staff table, many of the professors looked surprised.

McGonagall called another name. "Evans, Lily!"

The redhead from the train walked up to the stool. Now that James had gotten a better look at her, she was actually quite pretty. Her face, golden and freckled from the summer, was small and heart-shaped, with a curtain of fiery red hair framing it. She was on the shorter side, much like James himself, and walked up to the stool with a nervous spring in her step.

Maybe the biggest thing he saw was her eyes. They were green like the grasses that grew in his backwoods, green like the leaves on the sycamore trees in front of his house. They were hard to categorize by color; they seemed to flash and change shades every so often, James thought.

James watched the hat be placed on her face, which looked even smaller under the large Sorting Hat. There was a long pause; James could see Lily's eyes darting around uncertainly under the hat. Then:

"_GRYFFINDOR_!" the Hat cried, and James couldn't help but feel relieved. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Severus look at his feet. James smirked.

More names were called. A pudgy boy was sorted into Slytherin, a very, very tall girl went to the Hufflepuff table, and a few joined the Ravenclaw table.

"Lupin, Remus!"

James looked up- he had heard the name Lupin before. It had been his dad after coming home from a meeting at the Ministry, saying something about a man named Lupin.

A lanky boy walked up; he was limping, James could tell. His left foot dragged slightly on the floor, making it so that he leaned to the right side a bit. James couldn't see his face, but the back of his head was covered in golden-brown curls.

When he turned, James' eyes widened. His face was covered in long scars; silver, white, pink. Where could he possibly have gotten those?

Well, he could ask later. He watched Remus Lupin sit on the stool and wait quietly, keeping his eyes down.

"_GRYFFINDOR!_"

_Another Gryffindor_, James thought as Remus walked over to the Gryffindor table. His stomach tingled with anticipation; he was coming up soon.

"McKinnon, Marlene!" went to Ravenclaw. James watched her go. After M came P.

He thought he was next. When McGonagall opened her mouth to call the next name, he had already started walking up there.

But the name wasn't his. Instead, "Pettigrew, Peter!"

"Whoops," James muttered to himself, stepping back to let Peter Pettigrew through.

Peter's sorting also took a long time; James was beginning to get annoyed- why couldn't he just be Sorted already?

"_GRYFFINDOR!_" the hat cried.

_Finally_, James thought. Every muscle in his body seemed to have tightened all of a sudden; he was tense, very tense.

"Potter, James!"

James gulped and strode up to the stool. The Hat looked much, much bigger up close. Intimidating.

James shook himself slightly. Why was he intimidated by a _hat_? Was he that much a coward? He didn't think so.

James put the Hat on.

Not even as soon as he'd put it on did the Hat go:

"_GRYFFINDOR!_"

**I stole some of these names off of the Harry Potter wiki, so credit to the makers of it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and there will be many more to come. The next chapter is Sirius' PoV, so it will be a little bit different. I used my take on Sirius and kind of- broke- past his usual smirking self and went a little more in depth into his family fears.**


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